Although the signal had been lost again, the good news was that the message had finally been delivered before Yu Jiangbai crossed the creek.
However, whether he would listen was another matter. What if he still chose to be stubborn?
Thinking of this, Yu Ming grew worried again.
At this moment, Yu Jiangbai was still staring blankly at his phone for a while, and then he saw several newly received messages. These messages were also sent by his second younger brother; they had arrived the moment the signal was restored.
He looked at his companions who were preparing to cross the creek. Everyone was organizing their gear, and some were handling ropes, so he read the messages carefully.
"Big Brother, when you were traversing the mountains and passing through dangerous terrain earlier, was someone bitten by a snake? You brought snake medicine, and although the person injured was able to suppress the toxin, it was only temporary. Their condition is not good."
Yu Jiangbai looked up at Lǎo Hēi, who was sitting there gasping for air with an unpleasant complexion. He was shocked—how did his second younger brother know about this?
Of course, Yú Xiǎoluó had told Yu Ming. Yu Ming did not have time to dwell on the issue of identifying his sister; he only wanted his eldest brother to believe her words. He did not know why, but he found himself trusting this newly recognized sister so implicitly.
Yu Jiangbai continued reading: "If you all get into the water, the injured companion's wounds will be exposed to it, attracting attacks from the Bloodthirsty Water Monsters in the water. At that point, not one of you will be spared. Big Brother, please believe me, you can catch a small animal to test it."
Yu Jiangbai frowned slightly. Though he was confused about how his second younger brother could have known, he knew his second brother would never play such a joke on him, nor would he ever try to harm him. Among all his brothers, he was the most serious; if it had been Yú Liàng, he might not have even bothered to respond.
Yu Jiangbai looked up and saw that several people had already pulled the ropes tight, ready to cross the creek.
The current was rapid, and the creek was wide and quite deep; without thorough preparation, it would be difficult to cross safely.
His companion was already calling out to him, "Brother Yu, hurry up! I'll swim to the other side first and pull the rope across, then you all can cross together. You need to tie the safety line on quickly—we cannot act alone."
"Wait for a moment, do not go into the water yet!" Yu Jiangbai shouted to stop them.
As a seasoned extreme explorer, his word carried weight, and since he was the team leader for this expedition, everyone stopped and turned to look at him upon hearing his command.
"Zhōng Míng, come with me to catch a small animal. Everyone else, stay where you are and do not enter the water!"
Zhōng Míng was an archer—an exceptionally skilled one from the national team—and he had brought his bow and arrows along for the expedition.
The two of them set off and searched for a while, finding two wild rabbits playing with each other.
Zhōng Míng drew his bow, and with a "swish," he shot one of them. The other bolted away like a startled bird, but it still could not escape the marksmanship of Zhōng Míng, the master archer.
Thus, they returned soon after.
Everyone was confused as to why Yu Jiangbai had told them not to enter the water, and why he chose this moment to go hunting and return with two rabbits. They all looked at Yu Jiangbai and Zhōng Míng with puzzled expressions.
Zhōng Míng was equally perplexed and looked at Yu Jiangbai.
Yu Jiangbai said nothing and tossed one of the rabbits into the rushing currents.
Because the rabbit had an arrow wound, the water surface stained with a blush of red after it fell in. The current swept the rabbit downstream, and it soon vanished from view.
What was the point of this? A rabbit was wasted for nothing, when it could have improved their meal. Everyone felt a bit confused.
Yu Jiangbai stared at the water, but nothing happened. Aside from the increasingly faint bloodstain being washed downstream, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
It seemed nothing was wrong. There was no such thing as the water monsters his second younger brother mentioned; he did not know where he had heard that news, but it was purely a rumor.
He was just about to give the order to prepare to cross the creek when a female team member suddenly pointed at the water downstream and screamed, "Look, what is that?"
Visible clusters of black things, almost occupying the entire width of the creek downstream, were charging against the current toward their position at high speed.
Yu Jiangbai frowned, "Everyone back up! Do not get near the water."
The black objects swam over quickly, competing for the last remaining trace of blood.
As they emerged from the water to compete, Yu Jiangbai and the others could clearly see the appearance of these black monsters.
They resembled otters, but they had snowy white fangs and sharp claws, with cold, ferocious eyes. The monsters that failed to get any blood were staring directly at them.
Yu Jiangbai hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and threw the second rabbit out.
The moment the rabbit hit the water, countless water monsters swarmed onto it, tearing it into shreds in an instant. The water surface was immediately filled with a thick blood mist, but the mist was quickly swallowed by them.
They devoured it all clean, leaving nothing behind.
Everyone gasped in horror at the sight. If they had entered the water, the consequences would likely have been exactly the same as the rabbit's fate. The first rabbit that was swept away had clearly already met its end in their stomachs; it had just moved out of their sight, so they hadn't witnessed it.
However, one rabbit clearly could not satisfy the needs of so many water monsters. Several started attacking a female team member who was closest to the water.
"Back up! Back up!" Yu Jiangbai shouted as he sprinted toward the female team member.
But the female team member had been frozen in terror; it took her two seconds to process what was happening and try to retreat.
Before she could turn to run, a water monster bit into her pant leg. She fell to the ground, and other monsters crawled up, biting her pants and pulling hard to drag her into the water.
Yu Jiangbai grabbed the female team member's hand and pulled her upward, but more and more water monsters were latching onto her feet and legs, refusing to let go.
"Hurry! Come and help!" Yu Jiangbai roared.
Several people rushed over to assist. The female team member kicked frantically at the water monsters with her other foot, and finally, with everyone's help, she reached safety.
Those water monsters also had limitations; they could not leave the water, so they did not dare to venture far from the source.
Still shaken, the female team member checked her lower limbs. Fortunately, she was wearing thick hiking boots, so her feet were uninjured, but her legs were not as lucky. Her pants were not as thick as the boots, and her calves had been bitten in several places.
After everyone helped the female team member treat her wounds, they discussed their next steps.
They had managed to save their lives this time entirely thanks to Yu Jiangbai's decision; otherwise, they would have already ended up in the Huangquan together.
Consequently, the group trusted Yu Jiangbai even more.
Yu Jiangbai knew that they had avoided a major disaster solely due to his second younger brother's warning. He could not help but recall his brother's words again: Do not cross the creek, turn back the way you came!
They were already halfway there—were they really going to give up on this expedition?